Followers could not miss it. On the entrance of Hellfesta large 7 meter statue bearing the picture ofOzzy Osbournepioneer of heavy metallic, welcomes festival-goers. The demise of the founding father of Black Sabbath, in July 2025nonetheless strikes early followers. It’s due to this fact logical that this bronze and granite statue, signed Philippe Pasqua, is within the highlight for the twentieth anniversary of the competition.
Whether or not they’re followers or novices, festival-goers all take note of the primary notes of “No Extra Tears”, the artist’s solo success, or the refrain of “Paranoid”, Black Sabbath’s most listened to music on the platforms. Some even took out the t-shirt adorned with the very recognizable face of the artist.
“We already remorse it”
“It does one thing,” says Cyril, moved as he movies the statue of his idol. At 47 years outdated, this Nantes resident has by no means had the chance to see Ozzy Osbourne in live performance. The artist was, nonetheless, a daily on the Clissonnais competition and carried out on the Hellfest stage 4 occasions, twice solo, twice in a gaggle. “Once I realized of his demise I informed myself that I might by no means see him in live performance,” confides the fan, “he’s a kind of artists that we already miss. He’s the king. »
Didier is fortunate. He has already seen his flagship artist twice in Clisson. For the rocker, an Ozzy Osbourne music is sort of a Proust madeleine. “Black Sabbath was the primary album I purchased,” recollects the retiree, “on the time I did not find the money for to go to their live performance, I waited till I used to be 50 to purchase a ticket. »
Within the shadow of Lemmy Kilmister
Many festival-goers take the time to admire the statue and take a number of selfies alongside the “king”. Adrien is amazed by the resemblance of the work. “She has an excellent face!” », says the thirty-year-old. For him, the Prince of Darkness has its place within the pantheon of metalheads. “It was he who made it attainable to democratize the musical genre “, he believes.
Some metalheads are extra skeptical. “I believe they aged him a little bit, I might have appreciated to see him shirtless,” Mathieu suggests to his group of buddies. “I do not discover it so consultant of Ozzy,” agrees Pablo, “I imagined it extra imposing like that of Lemmy (Kilmister). » The Motörhead singer who died in 2015 additionally has his statue within the coronary heart of Hellfest, a number of meters from the Warzone. Yearly, festival-goers nonetheless take the time to admire it.
“Is he the one who ate the bats alive?” »
However not everybody was immersed on the earth of the pioneer. “It’s he who ate bats alive? », asks a tall, barely misplaced bearded man. “I have to be too younger to grasp, I assumed he was a six-seven », blurts one other festival-goer in entrance of the enormous with outstretched fingers.
Thursday night, a tribute of round ten minutes was deliberate between the concert events ofAlice Cooper and Convey Me the Horizon. However a number of hours earlier than the launch of this primary day of onerous rock, Ozzy Osbourne’s spouse introduced on her social networks that she would in the end not be there for medical causes. The followers have been glad with fireworks and a brief retrospective on big screens.
